The European Commission has welcomed the adoption at first reading of
the 'European integration' bills by Ukraine's parliament, and urged Kyiv
to pass them at second reading, and solve the situation with former
Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko by Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius
on Nov.18.

Peter Stano, spokesman for European Commissioner for Enlargement and
European Neighborhood Policy Stefan Fule said.

"We welcome the adoption in first reading by the Verkhovna Rada on Nov. 8, of the draft legislation on the reform of
the General Prosecutor's Office – a significant step in the reform of
Ukraine's judiciary - and of the draft legislation for parliamentary
elections. This progress must now be consolidated by the prompt adoption
of the two laws also in a second reading. In this context, we welcome
the calling of an extraordinary session of the Verkhovna Rada next
Wednesday," Stano said.

The spokesman also said that Ukraine should currently make a decisive
move to address the issue of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
"We fully support the ongoing efforts by the Cox/Kwasniewski mission to
this end: their final report to the European Parliament will be of
crucial importance," he added.

The EU remains committed to signing the agreement on association and a
deep and comprehensive free trade area (AA/DCFTA) in Vilnius, provided
there is determined action and tangible progress on the EU benchmarks,
as set out by the Dec.10, 2012 conclusions by the EU Council on
Ukraine, Stano said.

"The Vilnius Summit will take place in less than three weeks and the
EU will need to take its decision on the possible signing of the
AA/DCFTA already at the Nov.18 meeting of the Foreign Affair
Committee. The time for delivery is short," he said.

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